Wave machine



Nov. 19, 1940. J. WITTE ET AL I 7 2,222,010

WAVE MACHINE Filed March 2, 1958 INVENTORS. Louis J. Wzfffa BY I 7 Ben H. Souihland. I I

W fmd ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 19, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE assignors to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, Los Angeles, California, a corporation of New York Application March 2, 1938,Serial1No. 193,528

,8 Claims.

This invention relates to special effects equipment, such as is used in motion picture work, and deals particularly with a wave making machine.

The primary object of the invention to be described hereinafter is to provide a compact, portable machine capable of producing waves in water that may be easily moved from place to place and installed and operated with a minimum of work and preparation. Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character described, further characterized by silent operation, thus enabling the machine to be used in pictures where sound is to be recorded. For this purpose we use compressed air for operating the machine and carry the exhaust to a point where the noise will not be objectionable. Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine for making waves in water that may be quickly set up and operated and easily and quickly adjusted to operate in water of different depths and may be adjusted to produce large or small waves. A specific object of this invention is to provide pneumatic means for reciprocating a tank or a similar bulky article on or near the surface of water, either vertically or horizontally in the water, to produce waves.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds, in conjunction with the drawing, in which Figure 1 is a'front elevation showing the machine as it would be installed for producing waves in water. is a top plan view of Figure 1 and Figure 3 is a vertical section showing the working parts of the spool valve.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises a tank which may be of a hollow, cylindrical type or which may be of wood or any other suitable material, together with means for supporting the tank and for reciprocating the tank on the surface of the water. In Figure 1, we have shown an elevation of the machine as it would be installed for use to produce waves in a body of water. Here it can be seen that the machine in general comprises a pair of standards designated II. Upon the standards we mount sliding sleeves I2 which are adapted to move up and down upon the standards and are located in the desired positions by set screws l3. Mounted upon the sleeves I2 is a plate I4, which may be welded to the sleeves I-2 and held rigid by the. braces I5. The foregoing arrangement provides an adjustable platform for mounting the working parts of our invention. As before stated, it was one of the objects of this invention to provide a tank or any other suitable object that may be pushed into and Figure 2- out of water to create waves. Accordingly, our invention provides a tank or a displacement body I6 adapted to be reciprocated. The tank I6 is guided by guide rods I! which are fixed to the plate I4 and slidably extend through the tank. 5'

The means for reciprocating the tank I6 comprise a cylinder I8 having a piston I9 therein adapted to be reciprooated by compressed air. The piston I9 in turn is connected to the tank I6 by a rod I 20." The opposite ends of the cylinder I8 are 10 connected to a spool valve arrangement generally designated 2| by pipes 22 and 23. Compressed air is supplied to the spool valve arrangement 2I through a conduit 24 which is controlled by a valve 25. The spool valve arrangement 2 I, which is more fully illustrated in Figure 3, will be seen to comprise a cylinder 26 having ports 2! and 28 which are connected to pipes 22 and 23 respectively. The cylinder 26 also contains ports 29 and 36 which are connected to an exhaust mem- 20 her 3 I, that in turn connects to a conduit 32. Inside the cylinder 26 we provide a spool valve generally designated 33. The spool valve 33 is arranged to reciprocate and to alternately open and a close the ports 21, 28, 29 and 30 in a manner to '25 reciprocate the piston I9 in the cylinder I8. For this purpose we provide a rod 34 extending from the spool valve 33 which carries an arm 36 that is adapted to slidably receive a rod 36 at its outer end, the rod 36 being connected to the tank I6. 30

In operation, the machine is first set on the proper height on the standard II by means of 'the set screws I3 to bring the tank I6 at the proper elevation with respect to the surface of the water to produce the type of waves desired. 35 The tank I6 is then reciprocated by opening the valve 25 and admitting compressed air into the cylinder IS, the spool valve arrangement 2| operating to reverse the air in the cylinder I8. In case a quick, short stroke is desired to produce small, 40 closely spaced Waves, means are provided on the rod 36 for this purpose. Here it will be noted that collars 31 and 38 are mounted on the rod 36 and held in position by set screws 39 and 46. This permits that the collars 31 and 38 may be 45 adjustably mounted on the rod 36 to provide for a long or short stroke of the piston IS in the to yieldingly snap into the grooves. The purpose of this arrangement is to provide a yielding detent for the rod 34 which properly positions the spool valve 33 in its two operative positions 5 and at the same time, in conjunction with the springs 43 and 44, provides a sudden shift of the spool valve 33 from one position to the other. The exhaust conduit 32 may be carried to any point desired and, if necessary, may be enclosed in a suitable housing to reduce the exhaust noise and thus render the apparatus useful for recording sound with pictures.

A machine of the character described is highly useful in motion picture work for creating artificial waves in ponds, lakes or wherever desired, inasmuch as it is silent in operation and can be used where dialogue or other sounds are to be recorded and, in addition, is capable of adjustments such as for depth of water, length of stroke, etc.

We claim:

1. A machine for making waves in water, comprising supporting standards adapted to extend into the Water, a supporting member mounted upon said standards, a bulky body adapted to be reciprocated with respect to said supporting member, a cylinder having a piston therein mounted on said supporting member, means for connecting said piston to said body, a spool valve arranged to control the reciprocation of said piston in said cylinder, and means mounted upon said bulky body for operating said spool valve.

2. A machine for making waves in water, comprising supporting standards adapted to extend into the water, a supporting member adjustably mounted upon said supporting standards, a bulky body adapted to be reciprocated in the water, a cylinder having a piston therein mounted upon said supporting member, means for connecting said piston to said body, and means for supplying compressed air to said cylinder, said last mentioned means including a spool valve arranged to control said compressed air to reciprocate said piston and an adjustable connection between said spool valve and said bulky body for controlling said spool valve.

3. A machine for making waves in water, comprising supporting standards adapted to extend into the water, a supporting member adjustably mounted upon said supporting standards, a bulky body adapted to be reciprocated in the water, a cylinder having a piston therein mounted upon said supporting member, means for connecting said piston to said body, and means for supplying compressed air to said cylinder, said last mentioned means including a spool valve arranged to control said compressed air to reciprocate said piston, a control member extending from said spool valve, a rod mounted on said bulky body adapted to slidably engage said control member, and means on said rod to engage and reciprocate said control member in response to movement of said bulky body.

4. A machine for making Waves in water, com

prising supporting standards adapted to extend into the water, a supporting member adjustably mounted upon said supporting standards, a bulky body adapted to be reciprocated in the water, a cylinder having a piston therein mounted upon said supporting member, means for connecting said piston to said body, and means for supplying compressed air to said cylinder, said last mentioned means including a spool valve arranged to control said compressed air to reciprocate said piston, a control member extending from said spool valve, a rod mounted on said bulky body adapted to slidably engage said control member, and spaced collars on said rod adapted to alternately engage and reciprocate said control member in response to movement of said bulky body.

5. A machine for making waves in water, com- 10 prising supporting standards adapted to extend into the water, a supporting member adjustably mounted upon said supporting standards, a bulky body adapted to be reciprocated in the water, a cylinder having a piston therein mounted upon 15 said supporting member, means for connecting said piston to said body, and means for supplyingcompressed air to said cylinder, said last mentioned means including a spool valve arranged to control said compressed air to reciprocate said 20 piston, a control member extending from said spool valve, a rod mounted on said bulky body adapted to slidably engage said control member, spaced collars on said rod adapted to engage and reciprocate said control member in response to 25 movement of said bulky body, and means for adjusting said collars longitudinally of said rod.

6. A machine for making Waves in water, comprising supporting standards adapted .to extend into the water, a supporting member adjustably 30 mounted upon said supporting standards, a bulky body adapted to be reciprocated in the Water, a cylinder having a piston therein mounted upon said supporting member, means for connecting said piston to said body, and means for supply- 35 ing compressed air to said cylinder, said last mentioned means including a spool valve arranged to control said compressed air to reciprocate said piston, a control member extending from said spool valve, a rod mounted on said bulky body 4!) adapted .to slidably engage said control member, spaced collars on said rod adapted to engage and reciprocate said control member in response to movement of said bulky body, and resilient means associated with said collars for cushioning and 43 quieting contact of same with said control member.

'7. A machine for making waves in water, comprising spaced supporting standards adapted to extend into the Water and support the weight of said machine, a supporting member adapted to be longitudinally adjustably mounted on said supporting standards, a displacement body adapted to be reciprocated from said supporting member,

means extending from said supporting member 55;

for guiding said displacement body, and means on said supporting member for reciprocating said displacement body.

8. A machine for making Waves, comprising spaced supporting standards adapted to extend my into a body of Water and support the Weight of the said machine, a supporting member adapted to be longitudinally adjustably mounted on said supporting standards, a displacement body adapted to be reciprocated from said supporting mem- (35 her, spaced rods extending from said supporting member and through said displacement body for guiding the same, and means on said supporting member for reciprocating said displacement body. 70

LOUIS JOHN WITTE. BENJAMIN HARRISON SOUTHLAND. 

